New Moon: Pivotal Point
by Mari's 6636
Summary: Continuing from the idea of As Our Lips Touched ,AOLT, where the story could have changed dramatically, had Meyer written it with Bella kissing Jacob instead of freezing. R&R to give me your thoughts about how it's going please. You have to read AOLT!
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters of Twilight/ New Moon. I only thought about continuing the story from the pivotal point on page 376, and my readers encouraged it. The characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

_**New Moon: Pivotal Point**_

As the kiss ended, the kiss that was so very different than the others I had experienced in this dreary town, I decided to not focus on the prospect of love. I already knew I loved Jake. Whether the love I felt was the same as what I felt for Edward was a matter I wanted to avoid for now.

Opening my eyes, I noticed Jake's were already open, and he looked thoughtful. He shook his head and leaned forward once gain, pressing his warm lips to my forehead. He then turned around and opened his door, letting in a gust of cold wind.

He changed completely in that instant.

Jacob growled loudly, not the same human growl from tat first morning at the beach, where we talked about his being a wolf, but a true growl, worthy of a wolf's, and slammed shut the door at once, hand back at the key, still in the ignition, before I could get my voice to form the words I wanted to say.

"What is it?" I managed to rasp out, voice shaking slightly, because of his sudden rush to get away.

He didn't reply right away, pressing his foot down urgently on the accelerator, tires squealing loudly as we sped away from the house.

"Jacob!" I raised my voice slightly at him, though it scraped against my sore throat unpleasantly. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Vampire," he spit out.

The air in my lungs immediately _whoosh_ed out, causing me to have a short dizzy spell. "You're sure . . . ? How . . . ?" I whispered.

"I can smell it, Bella!" was his forced out response. "Damnit!" he cursed under his breath.

He pulled a wide u-turn, realizing we were heading in the wrong direction, away from La Push, our current destination—he had to warn his pack, of course.

As we got closer to my house again, going as fast as my old truck could handle, I noticed something sitting in the darkness across the street from the little building—a car. Passing by it, I gasped in realization. "Jacob, turn around . . ." I heard myself whisper.

Jacob glanced at me, alarmed that I though it was safe, that I _wanted_ to go back to the place where a vampire was sitting around. "Are you _nuts_, Bella?!" he yelled.

"No, it's them, their car is . . . Jacob, it isn't Victoria!" I squealed out, feeling the horrid scratching at my throat again. "That's Carlisle's car, Jake! Take me back, I want to go back!"

As soon as I mentioned Carlisle, Jacob slammed on the brakes, visibly getting upset; shaking so violently I almost regretted saying it. I hurried to calm him.

"Jake, relax, nothing's wrong, it isn't dangerous . . . It's only them, stay calm. . ." my voice faded as I cautiously reached out to place a slightly trembling hand on his warm shoulder once his tremors stopped.

He was gasping for breath, resting his forehead on the steering wheel, muttering to himself. "Relax . . ." While he focused on that, I turned my head to gaze back at the car.

Why was Carlisle's car here? And was anyone with him . . . ? I mentally slapped myself. _Stop hoping for the impossible. It won't ever happen . . . and you have Jake now, right?_ I distracted myself from the small sting of pain in my hollow chest. Carlisle was here, and that was enough. I was glad for that much, for the proof they still exist.

I tore my eyes off the black Mercedes when I heard the driver's door open, and felt the cool wind against my skin once more.

"Jacob?" I looked at him questioningly.

"Sorry, Bella but . . . I can't." I gasped as he looked at me, our eyes meeting. The previous warmth his eyes held was gone, his face twisted back into the bitter mask that I held so much hate for.

"What . . .?" I didn't quite understand. It was only Carlisle, after all. The most understanding one of them all . . .

"Bella, that isn't just . . . just a Cullen. Regardless of which one it is," a growl entered his voice for a short moment as he spoke, "we're enemies, and I can't be found on his land . . . _We_, my whole pack, can't be found here. The redheaded bloodsucker . . . we can't hunt her here anymore. I have to go let Sam and the others know," he told me in a cold, distant voice, putting the truck in neutral.

Before he turned away to get out of the cab of my truck, I caught a glimpse of the hurt in his eyes, before his mask hid it again. "Bye."

He jumped out of the truck carefully, then began jogging away, slightly shaking his head, his body shimmering as he fought his tremors once again.

For a moment, I couldn't move. What did I just do . . . ?

That thought couldn't keep me still for long.

I quickly slid across the seat, closed the door, and put the truck back in gear. I pulled a wide u-turn and headed back to my house, parking in my usual place in the driveway once I got there.

Cutting the headlights off, turning the truck off and removing my key from the ignition, I opened the door of my truck. I hopped out, making sure to not slip on the wet ground; it was very dark now. In Charlie's rush, he must have forgotten the porch light.

As my shaky hands reached above the door for the key, my thoughts went to Jacob. What if I had caused him permanent damage, and broken his trust? What if he never forgives me . . . ?

I forced those painful thoughts from my mind as I wrapped a hand around the doorknob, bringing the key down to unlock it.

It turned with ease, unlocked already in my grasp. I pushed the door open gently. The hallway was dark as night.

Reaching for the light switch slowly with my still-shaking hand, I bit back to urge to call out a greeting. I already knew the house wasn't empty. Suddenly Jacob's words from earlier came back into my mind, his voice ringing out inside my head as I recognized the darkness of the hallway—it was like the black water of today's "adventure." _She took off into the water_, his voice reminded me. _The bloodsuckers have the advantage there. That's why I raced home—I was afraid she was going to double back swimming._

I froze completely as this sunk in. I had been trying to figure out what that flaming color was on the water's surface, since it could not have been an actual flame . . . Victoria's hair, exactly like the orange-red flames of a fire, flowing about in the wind. . .

I nearly collapsed as I realized she was right _there_ with us. I couldn't even fathom what might have happened had it only been me and Jacob there, without Sam there. . .

Suddenly the light was switched on, even though, in my frozen state, I hadn't yet found the switch.

The sudden brightness caused me to see spots for a moment, and I looked up to see that someone had been waiting for me to return home.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

This is the first installment of the rest of New Moon. I've decided to name this little project Pivotal Point, because that's how it happened . . . the story would have a completely different ending had Bella kissed him. Time to see what would have happened. Please let me know what you think!!

Always yours,

_Chastity Kikaju_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight/New Moon!...This is just how I could see it going after 'the kiss' from the scene I changed…hehehehehehe

17. Visitor

Still as a statue, and white as one as well, the stared at me, he eyes black as night, waiting, as beautiful as one could imagine.

My knees buckled and I almost fell right then and there, but I caught myself, and flew at her, wrapping my arms around her ice-cold frame.

I could barely gasp out her name, as I ran into her, hitting her so hard, it knocked the wind out of me. I had forgotten how _hard_ she was.

"Alice!" I cried out as I gripped her tightly.

Her reply sounded confused, but held obvious relief in her voice as well. "Bella?"

I recognized that I would start crying soon enough, and when I started, the quiet sobs turned into gasping, as I was inhaling as much as I could, to compare her scent to how my memory had stored it. It was one hundred percent unique, unlike any other scent. Nothing could compare, and my mind hadn't stored it properly—no where near as good as the real thing.

When my gasping turned into heavy sobs, Alice pulled me into the living room and settled me on her lap. It was as cool as laying on a cold rock, but it was comfortably shaped to fit into my body. As she waited for me to get myself under control, she patted my back softly, to try to soothe me.

"I'm so sorry . . . ! You just don't know how glad I am to see you!" I was rubbing my eyes, as I hiccupped the words out.

"It's alright, Bella. It's alright, everything is."

I nodded once, unable to speak temporarily, still hiccupping. It seemed as though everything _was_ alright.

I heard Alice sigh, and she said, "I had forgotten how expressive you were." She didn't sound very happy.

For the first time, I looked up at her through my still-teary eyes. She was trying to keep as far away from me as possible without separating, straining her neck to keep my scent out of her nose, her lips pursed.

"I see . . ." I breathed out. She was hungry, and I smelled really tasty. I disentangled myself from her and stood. I wasn't used to having to worry about this sort of thing. "Sorry, Alice."

"It isn't your fault. I shouldn't let myself go so long without feeding, I don't normally… But today I was rushing." She then glared at me, and I suppressed a squeak. "On that note, would you care to tell me why you're still alive?"

I stepped back a few paces, until she narrowed her eyes further at me. The ice in her gaze stopped me from moving, and the few hiccups still in my throat vanished, as if they were scared, when, in truth, realization sunk in.

"You saw me on the cliff, when I fell," I stated, more than asked.

"No, Bella, I saw you throw yourself off the edge," She corrected, lifting her delicate brows.

I chewed on my lower lip, debating on what I could say to explain.

Alice didn't wait for me to explain, however. "I told him, I _told_ him this would happen. But _no_, he said. He _insisted_ that you promised," She continued in a mimic of his voice, which made me freeze completely, "'Don't look for her, either. She promised, nothing will happen, so _don't watch_. We've done enough.'

"Just because I'm not keeping a purposeful eye on you, doesn't mean I won't see, Bella. I wasn't watching, but I'm already attuned… You see, we're close, so I can easily see you. And when I saw you, I wasn't exactly going to take the time to think it out, I jumped on a plane, and here I am. I knew I had to do something, and, although I would be too late to save _you_, I needed to be here for Charlie. So I'm here, and then you pull up, impossibly." She shook her head in frustration, clearly confused. "This is truly impossible. I saw you go under the water, and I waited for you to surface, but you didn't. How could you even think of doing such a thing to Charlie? And my brother, how do you think Edward would--"

As she said his name, my wound tingled; it still hurt some to hear his name, I had only let her ramble on to listen to the perfection of her bell-like voice.

"Alice, I wasn't trying to kill myself."

She looked at me as though I challenged her intelligence. "Are you trying to tell me you didn't hurl yourself off that cliff?"

"No… I'm just telling you I wasn't trying to kill myself. It was for recreation. All the La Push kids are doing it. I saw Jacob's friends jump, and it looked fun," I couldn't help but hear the slight question in my voice as I finished, and I know Alice heard it, too; her expression looked even more suspicious now.

She didn't comment.

I continued, hurrying to explain. "And I wasn't thinking about the water, or how the storm would affect it at all."

She still didn't believe me, I could tell. I decided I had better redirect the way I was approaching things.

"Alice, if you saw me go under, why didn't you see Jacob pull me out? He saved me from drowning and I couldn't have been under the water for more than a minute before her got to me. I _was_ out of it when he towed me to shore, but I wasn't under too long," I informed Alice.

She considered this for a moment, then questioned, "Someone pulled you out?"

I nodded, "Yes. Jacob."

She looked kind of put out and confused; perhaps her imperfect power was bothering her? She unexpectedly moved in close to me and purposefully smelled my shoulder.

This startled me, and I gasped slightly. "Alice? W-what are you doing?"

She didn't seem to hear me. "Jacob? Is that who you were with outside? It didn't sound like it was a very pleasant conversation," she continued, still sniffing at me.

"Jacob Black," I clarified, "he's my best friend, I suppose, maybe more now, I don't really know," I trailed off, mumbling, as I remembered our kiss. I also remembered that I left him, for his natural enemy. I mentally kicked myself for it—would he forgive me?

"Oh?" Alice only half-questioned. She seemed distracted.

"What's wrong?"

"I have… no clue whatsoever." She looked back at me. "Tell me about Jacob."

"Well, he made it so I'm standing here," I left that hanging thinking about his secret, and hers.

"How could a human boy," she seemed skeptical, "pull you out of those waves?"

"He's stronger than most humans," I could hear the question in my tone.

I told him their secret. It would only be fair if I returned the favor, right?

So I told her the story.

"Werewolves?" Alice asked when I finished. "Are you sure?"

I nodded and explained in full detail how the Quileutes turned into wolves to fight vampires. "I guess that was before you joined Carlisle."

Alice nodded this time. Then she smelled me once more and leaned away from me again. I suppose that should explain why you smell _awful_," she paused. "But my vision?"

"What? I smell bad?" I smelled my shoulder. It smelled fine to me.

Suddenly Alice's eyes went wide and she stared at me, stunned. "You're telling me that a _werewolf_ is your best friend?"

I gave her a tiny nod.

"And how long has this been happening?"

"Not very long," I felt the need to defend Jacob. "he's only just turned into a wolf these past few weeks."

She looked even more shocked than before, with a glare added onto it. "Even worse, Bella! He's a young on! You really are a magnet for trouble, like Edward said."

Her words stung me. "There isn't anything wrong with werewolves," I muttered.

"Oh, yes, they're fine," her voice was sarcastic," until they get too mad, that is. Leave it to you to find the next best monster in town after the vampires leave."

I wasn't about to argue with Alice—I was too happy that she was really, truly here. But I had to tell her.

"Alice, no. not all the vampires left Forks. That's the issue. If Jacob and his friends weren't here, Victoria would have already gotten me. Well, even before, Laurent would have killed me, in the meadow, I guess…"

Alice let out a growl. "Laurent? Victoria?"

Her expression scared me to I only nodded, pointing to myself. "I'm a magnet for danger, remember?"

"Okay, tell me everything again—this time from the very beginning."

I explained everything to her, minus the voices and motorcycles, rushing to move on during the part about cliffs and being bored, telling her about the flame atop the water's surface and what I thought it really was. At that point, Alice's expression became so dangerous, it surprised me—I was definitely not used to her truly looking like a vampire. I quickly moved on to explain Harry's death.

Throughout my explanation, Alice was listening patiently, not interrupting at all, merely shaking her head occasionally, the crease in her forehead almost permanently etched in. I paused, thinking of Charlie and Harry, knowing how horrible things would be.

"I guess we didn't really help, leaving, did we?" Alice whispered.

I laughed, a hysterical laugh, once. "Well, you guys didn't exactly leave to benefit me," I bitterly told her.

She scowled in the general 'down' direction, not really at anything. "I suppose it was on impulse that I came here today... I really shouldn't have."

I could feel my blood going cold. I locked my fingers around her collar in a desperate attempt to make her stay, "Please don't go, Alice," I whispered, "Don't leave me yet."

Her eyes opened a tiny bit wider as she nodded slowly. "Okay, Bella. I won't go tonight. I'll go tomorrow," she said slowly, trying to prevent a panic attack. "Now, breathe."

I tried to obey, but my still-missing lungs weren't working, wherever they were.

After I managed to get my breathing back to normal, she looked me up and down.

"What?" I asked quietly.

"You look horrible, Bella," she said.

"I did drown today, Alice," I sighed.

"No, it's worse than just that."

I sighed again. "Look, I'm doing my best, it isn't easy.

She mumbled something that sounded like, "I told him."

"Alice, what did you expect? To come back to find me prancing around whistling? You know me better than that," I told her quietly. "The only thing that's helped me was Jacob."

She ignored my last words and said, "I had hoped, Bella."

I was about to reply when the phone rang. "It should be Charlie," I mumbled, more to myself than to her. I dragged her along with me to go answer it.

"Hello?" I asked into the receiver.

"It's me, Bella," came Jacob's husky voice, laced with anger.

"Jake! Oh…!" I didn't know that to say. I didn't have to.

"Yea, yea, Bella, save it. I'm only calling to make sure you're still alive. Bye."

"Jacob, I'm sorry!" I blurted before he could hang up. Then the line was silent, before there was a soft click.

At least he didn't slam the phone down. Maybe there was hope for forgiveness…

"He is going to be a problem, Bella," Alice's voice broke into my thoughts. "He and his brothers aren't exactly thrilled to see me."

"Yea, well, it's not like you're staying for a long while," I pointed out.

"That doesn't change the fact that their natural enemy is here, Bella," she replied, her voice slightly sharp.

I leaned against her once more, with a sigh. I wanted her to stay, but I needed time alone to think about how things were with Jacob. Could I really be in love with him, too?

Alice sighed as well, then broke apart from my hold, pacing. "I'll have to speak with Carlisle about this…"

"Oh, you're leaving so soon?" I worked to sound indifferent.

She saw through it and laughed. "No, I will need clothes if I'm to stay. And I'll probably need to feed, as well," she added.

"So you're staying for sure?" I asked her quietly.

"For a night or two, yes," she replied. She then leaned forward swiftly and kissed me on the cheek. "Relax, Bella. An hour. Give me one hour and I'll be back."

I nodded, and, when she left, busied myself with a few simple chores that were being neglected while I stayed in La Push. I stopped shortly and sniffed at my shirt. It didn't smell horrible; it only smelled of the ocean. I took a shower anyways, to refresh myself.

Upon getting out of the shower, I had to stop myself from watching the clock. I knew Alice would be back. She promised.

I went into the kitchen to fix myself dinner: leftover spaghetti from Wednesday night.

I was startled to see Jacob sitting awkwardly at the kitchen table, looking at the floor. He looked slightly guilty.

"Jacob," I murmured quietly, making him look up at me. I felt a reassuring smile place itself on my face. I couldn't help but want to comfort him.

"Hi," he mumbled back at me. He stood and walked over to me, standing directly in front of me. I had to strain my neck in order to see his face; he was so tall!

Before I could say anything to let him know I was fine and he didn't need to look so distraught, he already threw his arms around me, holding me to him in a hug.

This surprised me. I had expected that he would maintain a no-touching rule, like he had when he first told me to go away; after I figured out he was a werewolf.

"I'm so, so sorry, Bella, honey," he whispered into my hair.

Again, I was surprised. "Why? I'm the one who should apologize, I started it this time," I murmured back, wrapping my arms around him to hug him back. This made him tighten his hold on me.

"I overreacted. I know how you are with them, the Cullens. It shouldn't have shocked me like it did."

I shook my head, fighting to not cry. "No, Jake, I'm entirely to blame for it. I left you to go see them, right after…" I trailed off, as a blush found its home on my cheeks.

He seemed to enjoy that, laughing huskily in my ear when I stopped talking. This aggravated me slightly, and I attempted to push away from him. He laughed louder as he allowed me to step out of his arms with a huff.

"Jacob, I'm sorry for that," I mumbled as I turned around, fixing my plate of spaghetti. "Want some?" I asked lightly.

He shook his head." Naw, I'm only allowed to be here for another moment. Sam wants me to go back and—" he cut off suddenly, a dangerous look in his eyes.

Uh-oh. Alice must be back. But, if she were, couldn't she see that Jacob was here…? Surely she wouldn't come in knowing that?

Jacob growled and moved so I was behind him. I sighed and went about my business, fixing my dinner. Jacob was growling at himself under his breath. No doubt talking to his brothers.

"Do I leave her with the leech? Ah, yes. She wants to stay," he growled out. He glanced at me, and his eyes softened slightly. "Bella," he addressed me.

"Yea, Jacob?" I asked without looking at him. I was attempting to eat the hot food.

"I'll be back," came his voice before my plate was on the counter and I was facing him, with his lips pressed to my forehead. "When she's gone," he added in a growl. Then he was gone, out the back door.

Alice walked into the kitchen, looking slightly wary. "Did he leave, Bella?"

I looked at her pointedly. "Would you be in this kitchen if he didn't?"

Alice didn't have the courtesy to look shameful. She patiently waited for me to finish my makeshift supper and then we sat on the couch, where I had placed bedding, so Charlie wouldn't be suspicious.

We sat there for a while, talking about her family. We spoke about everyone except the one I really wanted to know about. Alice told me Rosalie and Emmet were on another honeymoon, and Carlisle, Esme, Jasper, and herself were staying with Tanya's family in Denali.

She had done some digging and found out about her past as a human. She told me that she had a younger sister, Cynthia, whose daughter was still alive, in Biloxi. "My name was Mary Alice Brandon," she said.

She suddenly stiffened. "Bella, you're sure Charlie won't mind my being here?"

"Yea, why?" I was confused.

"Because we're about to find out," she murmured. I got up and rushed to the front door when I heard the cruiser pull up.

Charlie didn't notice me until I already had my arms wrapped around him, mumbling into his chest, "Sorry about Harry, Dad."

He nodded and hugged me back. He wasn't feeling uncomfortable about this show of emotions.

"Um, Dad? We have a visitor. Is it okay if she stays the night? I already asked her."

Charlie frantically looked around, seeing the black car parked across the street, when Alice showed up at the doorstep.

She smiled a little, rubbing her arm in embarrassment—whether it was real of not, I didn't know. "Hi, Charlie."

"Oh, hi, Alice. What brings you here?" Charlie asked, although I could feel that he had stiffened a bit. "Are the rest of your family here, too?"

Alice shook her head and replied politely, "No, I'm here alone. I was in the neighborhood and stopped by."

We all knew he wasn't really asking about the rest of the family. Charlie relaxed and smiled at her. "It's fine, Alice. It's nice to see you, honey. Bella can use some company while I'm down in La Push. I'm going to help Sue with funeral arrangements." He was being very warm to her, glad that she was alone.

We all went inside and I fixed Charlie a plate of spaghetti. He mumbled his thanks and ate it in silence. When he finished, I washed his plate as he went off to bed.

Alice and I sat on the couch, with me leaning against her shoulder. I drifted off to sleep soon after.

When I woke up, I heard Alice and Charlie talking quietly in the kitchen, along with sounds that showed that Charlie was fixing her breakfast.

"I'm glad he's not here, Alice. She was doing really badly when he left. It seemed like… Like someone died. She was out of it for a while, until Renée came to take her to Florida. Then she threw a fit, one that would make a toddler seem mild." I sighed silently. I hadn't had him fooled for even a moment. There were now sounds of forks scraping across plates and I wondered where Alice was putting the food.

She sighed, "I can tell she was bad, Charlie. And I wouldn't have some if I had had any idea. I'm sorry. I don't know what is going to happen when I leave." She sounded truly upset by this, and it made me feel bad for having her stay.

"I know, Alice. But she's been spending a lot of time with Jacob Black and it's doing some good." He sounded like he was warning her, giving her a message to pass on. "Where is _he_, by the way?" his voice had turned frigid.

"He's somewhere in South America, last time he checked in," Alice replied slowly.

I heard Charlie scoff. "I'm glad he's enjoying himself."

"I wouldn't make assumptions, Charlie," she replied in a voice that I knew meant that her eyes had flashed dangerously.

Apparently that shut Charlie up, and the conversation was over. He was at the sink now, washing the plates. I decided it was time to make my presence known.

I turned over, hearing the springs in the couch squeal in protest. "Alice…?" I mumbled, my raspy throat adding perfectly to the effect I wanted.

They didn't seem to suspect my eavesdropping, and Alice didn't hint at it later, when we were alone. The day flew by quickly, and before I knew it, it was morning again, with Charlie dressed in a suit, prepared to go to Harry's funeral.

I ran up to him and hugged him around the waist again. He hugged me back awkwardly, and headed out the door.

Today I decided to clean up around the house, and when I was up to my elbows in cleaning supplies, hunched over the toilet, the doorbell rang, and both Alice and I looked at each other in surprise.

"Ah, that would probably be Jacob," she said with her eyebrows furrowed.

The doorbell rang another time. Alice frowned and said, "I had better go. They won't be happy if we're in the same house. I won't be too far off, Bella."

She turned and walked into Charlie's bedroom, probably to disappear right out the window.

I rushed downstairs after removing my cleaning gloves, and opened the door right as the visitor rang the doorbell again. I looked up at him, into his angry face.

Even blind, Alice wasn't dumb.

I'm SO SO SO SO SO sorry for the delay! I was having writer's block for a while, and then my copy of Eclipse came in and I was crying SOOOOO bad. I hope Jacob comes back… I'm in love with him now, lol. Well, I'll update sooner than before, I PROMISE!hugs you all I love you guys!

Chastity


	3. IMPORTANT

To my readers:

I am so very sorry. I truly hope everyone understands… But I can no longer write fan fiction. I'm working on getting an original work published, and I've learned that it is impossible for me to continue writing fan fiction, with the exception of one piece. I thank each and every one of you who have read my stories. I hope you may one day come across the book entitled MASQUERADE.

Love forever,

Marianne C.

AKA

Amai Ayame Ai


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